1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to portable tables for use in vehicles, and more particularly pertains to a new and improved portable table designed to be supported on an automobile seat. When traveling in an automobile, especially on long trips, the occupants of the automobile need to be provided with entertainment as well as refreshment. Children, especially, tend to grow restless and irritable on long automobile journeys. In order to provide amusement for children on long automobile trips, the parents bring various toys and entertainment devices along. However, it is difficult to provide a stable surface on which these entertainment devices may be utilized. Also, it has been a considerable problem to provide a secure and stable support for food and beverage items in an automobile. The present invention solves the aforesaid problems by providing a stable, portable, adjustable table for use in automobiles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of portable tables for use in vehicles are known in the prior art. A typical example of such a portable table for use in vehicles is to be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,326,446, which issued to H. Goings on June 20, 1967. This patent discloses a portable car seat tray which is formed from a single sheet of folded cardboard. The tray has legs provided with a seat matching contour and also has receptacles for food and beverage containers. U.S. Pat. No. 3,632,158, which issued to A. Boothe on Jan. 4, 1972, discloses a console designed to be supported on a vehicle seat. U.S. Pat. No. 4,087,126, which issued to L. Wynn on May 2, 1978, discloses a console for van-type vehicles. The console is provided with receptacles for beverage containers. U.S. Pat. No. 4,341,304, which issued to H. Diller on July 27, 1982, discloses a tray for use by diesel truck mechanics, designed for receipt upon a tractor tire. The device includes a base comprising a rectangular box which is open at the bottom. Opposite ends of the base are contoured for receipt upon various tire sizes with the crown of the tire being received through the open bottom of the base. A tray with upstanding sidewalls is pivotally secured to the base. U.S. Pat. No. 4,341,418, which issued to A. Chappell on July 27, 1982, discloses a car seat table capable of being stored under a car seat. The table is constructed from three sections connected to one another by hinges. The table is held in an upsidedown storage position by guide runners which are centrally positioned in alignment on each table section and which slides along a track mounted on the bottom of the car seat for storage. The tray is provided with a plurality of apertures for receiving beverage containers and has a flat table top portion with opposed upstanding sidewalls. U.S. Pat. No. 4,010,696, which issued to H. Priesman on Mar. 8, 1977, discloses a tray for use in an automobile which is fitted on its underside with folding legs, of a size which, when extended, mount the tray on the floor inside a vehicle over the hump of the transmission shaft. The tray has receptacles for accommodating food and beverage containers, and has a flat table top portion surrounded by upstanding sidewalls. U.S. Pat. No. 3,922,973, which issued to H. Sturgeon on Dec. 2, 1975, discloses a portable automobile desk for use in vehicles. The vehicle desk is provided with attaching brackets and straps to secure the desk to the wire frame of the underside of the seat.
While the above mentioned devices are suited for their intended usage, none of these devices provide a portable table for use in automobiles which may be selectively supported by a pair of long contoured bottom legs on a car seat, or by utilizing one flat bottomed short leg, be supported by a backseat armrest on either side of the automobile. Further, none of these prior art vehicle tables are provided with slotted legs for securement to an automobile seat by conventional automobile seatbelts. Additionally, none of these aforesaid tables provides a cup support shelf for maintaining a beverage container projecting through an aperture in the table top surface in a level position. Inasmuch as the art is relatively crowded with respect to these various types of portable tables for use in vehicles, it can be appreciated that there is a continuing need for and interest in improvements to such portable tables for use in vehicles, and in this respect, the present invention addresses this need and interest.